Hatch-operating mechanism.



H. M. GLEASON.

1mm OPERATING mncmmsm. v APPLICATION FILED we. a, 1906. 933,970, Papented Sept. 7, 1909.

I I INVENTUI? nromvzk HENRY 1!. GLEASON, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

HATCH-OPERATING MECHANISM.

Application filed August 8, 1906. BeriaLNo. 329,635.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY M. GLEASON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia My invention relates to improvements in apparatus for operating armor hatches on ships. 1

My object is to provide improvedmeans for counterbalancing said hatches so that they may be quickly and. easily operated by hand power.

The great weight of hatches through armor decks on, naval vessels makes it necessary to provide special mechanism for their operation. When this mechanism is operated by electric power the weight of the necessary mechanism is considerable, sometimes amounting to more than the weight of a hatch itself. When these hatches are operated by hand power the work is tedious and requires -too much time. Where a weight is used as a counterpoise for the hatch, the space required for the sameis considerable, and results in the needless addition of weight that might otherwise be given to improving the offensive or defensive qualities of the vessel.

My invention comprises a sprin controlled mechanism for counterbalancing the.

hatch in its movement on its hinges. By this means the hatch'may be opened without working against its wei ht, and the only work Wlll be that require to overcome friction of the parts and the inertia of the hatch.

Referring, to the drawings :Figure 1 isa side elevation of my device showing the hatch, a portion of deck and portions of the counterbalancing mechanism in section. Fig. .2 is a plan view of the underside of same.

Similar "numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

The armor hatch 3 is usually of nickel steel and is seated, when closed, in the protective deck 4, also of nickel steel. The hatch 3 pivots or swings about the hinges 5, only one being shown. The lever 6, which is keyed to the shaft 7, is provided on its outer or end farthest from its axis with the roller 8, adapted to engage with the underside of hatch 3. The shaft 7 is journaled in the journal bearings 9, secured to the stationary structure below the armor deck.

. 11 is connected member 12.

Said shaft 7 comprises in its structure the crank 10 and crank pin 11. To'crank pin provided with four horizontal rods 13 securely bolted thereto. These rods 13 are slidably seated in member 14 which is pivotally secured at. 15-to lug 16 on the stationary framework beneath the deck. The spring 17 has one end seated in the recess 18 of member 12, while the other end is seated in the recess 19 of member 14, and is adapted to exert spring pressure between said two members. The guide rods 13 serve to revent the buckling or distortion of the spring. The guide or keeper 20 is secured to the underside of the hatch and serves by engaging roller 8 to limit the opening movement of "the hatch. The arm 6 is bifurcated and ada ted to straddle said keeper 20. The heads 22 on rods 13 serve to limit the movement of member 12 in the direction of the arrow.

The operation of my device is as follows:

When in the closed position as shown in solid lines in Fig. 1 the spring is under maxi- Speciflcation of Letters ?ate1it. Patented Sept. 7, 1909.

Member 12 is mum compression. The thrust of the spring tends to turn the shaft 7 and causes the roller 8 to bear against the hatch. The parts are so proportioned that the tendency of the hatch to close is always balance by the counter effect of the lever which is actuated by the spring under compression. When the. hatch is fully open the spring is free.- It is of course to be understood that while the spring is shown of the compression type torsion, extension or flexion springs might be equally available. It is to be noted that at the point where the hatch exerts its greatest force against the spring, the spring is under its maximum compression or tension. That is, when the hatch is in the horizontal position. That when the hatch is in the vertical position as shown in dotted lines, that is, when its weight is substantially vertically above the pivot support of its hinges, it is exerting no force whatever againstthe spring and the spring .is then under zero tension. It is also to be noted that the position of the lever 6 is such that when the hatch is inthe horizontal position the lever is in the posi tion of its greatest efficiency, that is, the contact wheel 8 is at the farthest point re lever has the maximum leverage against the vertical position as shown in dotted lines the contact wheel 8 has approached the-pivot of hinge 5 by almost half the extension of the hatch, and therefore the lever exerts a minimum amount of power a ainst the weight of the hatch. The usual ogs 21 are employed for securing the hatch when in the closed position. v

It is to be understood that this invention applies to armor hatches, or batches of such relatively great weight that a man could not move the same with-the power of his hands applied directly thereto. By the means above described it Wlll be obvious however, that a hatch so counterpoised may be readily op erated b hand with the exercise of power only su cient to overcome the friction between the workin parts, and theinertia of the hatch. It is also-to be noted that by said means the hatch will be operated much more promptly than by complicated electrical or pneumatically'operated mechanism. It will also be obvious that by my improved means, there will bea great savlng of weight and space, both valuable items in Warship structures, and also the elimination of complicated mechanisms which are liable to get out of order.

What I claims'is 1. A counterbalance for an armor hatch, comprising a member pivotally supported and having a movable engagement with the hatch, and spring means for actuating the said member, whereby the greatest counterbalancing force is exerted upon the hatch when in the closed position to give a maxithe greatest counterbalancing force is bein exerted upon the hatch when in the close position to give a maximum initial cooperation to any opening force applied thereto.

3. In a counterbalance for an armor hatch, the combination of a lever ivotally supported and having a movab e engagement with the hatch, a crank operatively connected with the lever, and spring means for actuating the crank, the direction of force exerted on the crank being such relatively to the lever that the greatest counterbalancmg force is exerted upon the hatch when in the closed position to give a maximum initial cooperation to any opening force applied thereto.

HENRY M. GLEASON. Witnesses:

MAE HOFMANN, PI M. MACLAREN. 

